The Church of the Immaculate Concepcion of Tamontaka, also known as the Tamontaka Church is a Roman Catholic church in

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent co ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The church was established by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priests as part of the Tamontaka Mission which focused on the youth as well as the

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

of Christianity in the Cotabato region in the late 19th century. The original church structure was built in 1872 along the Tamontaka river. Two schools one exclusively for boys and another for girls were established. The former was managed by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and the latter was run by the Beatas de la Compania de Jesús (now the

Religious of the Virgin Mary , image = Religious of the Virgin Mary (seal of the congregation).png , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = RVM , established = , type = Centralized Religious In ...

). The church was moved to its present site in 1879. The Jesuits of Zamboanga took over the establishment in 1899. In 1939, the church became part of the Cotabato mission of the

Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary Congregation of Papal Right, religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a France, French priest born in Aix-en-Provence ...

. The church building was destroyed in an earthquake on August 17, 1976, and was rebuilt after two years. The building sustained damage in a fire on May 11, 1994, and was repaired within a year. The church was declared a National Historic Landmark on July 19, 2004. The church is connected to a catacomb through a tunnel. The tunnel itself is part of a network of caves connected to the Pedro Colina Hill.

References

{{coord missing, Philippines Buildings and structures in Cotabato City National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Cotabato City Tourist attractions in Maguindanao